Talking about cosmetic improvement one
can't go past mobile phones either. As well as the aforementioned
items, lounge suites, toilets (???) and matrasses feature highly on
the inorganic list, however it is the electronic items (e-waste) I am
focussing on.
One of the most frightening things
about the whole inorganic scenario is that all items not recovered by
the hoards of out of town collectors goes straight into a hole in the
ground. Every year people discard piles and piles of rubbish onto the
pavement with out a second thought only to do it again the next year
and the next year and so on and so on......... In fact some of the
piles are so horrendously large it appears as though the residents of
that particular house have replaced virtually everything they own.
Once in landfill, the e-waste can leach
toxic substances, mostly heavy metals such as lead, mercury and
cadmium, and carcinogenic substances like polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) into groundwater and soils. This poses a serious threat to
both humans and the natural environment and yet the average person is
ignorantly unaware either legitimately or by choice.
According to the Ministry for the
Environments' (MFE) Environment New Zealand 2007 (ENZ07) report, in
2006 the average person in New Zealand was responsible for about 898
kg of waste to landfill. Looking at the sizes of the piles outside
East Coast Bays' homes, I would estimate that about 10 percent of
the total waste per person would be inorganic waste collection.
Furthermore ENZ07 also states that 11 percent of waste to landfill in
2006 was potentially hazardous e.g. heavy metals found in e-waste,
and although landfill practices have improved in recent times in
terms of leachate prevention this is still and undesirable situation.
Considering the potential harmfulness
of e-waste some countries have taken to "recycling" by means of
shipping their e-waste offshore to Third World countries such as
China, India, Kenya and Nigeria. Once it arrives in these countries
it is transported to the "recycling" sites where very little
recycling takes place, in fact none at all in some cases. Often the
waste such as TVs just gets piled up in urban shantytowns exposed to
the elements, rapidly increasing the rate of toxic substance
leaching. Another confounding factor is that the lack of technology
to contain the toxic substances means a severe toll on the
surrounding people and their environment.
Many countries in Europe have employed
policies to ensure safe recycling and disposal of e-waste done
largely by placing the onus on the manufacturer of the electronic
equipment. Implementing such a scheme would be an excellent idea in
New Zealand as well as raising awareness on the dangers of disposing
your e-waste in landfill. A new initiative has been launched in New
Zealand called eDay regarding e-waste and I suggest you check it out.
For more info on eDay and e-waste check
out www.eday.org.nz
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